Driver sues teenage bicyclist hit and killed by her SUV

The estate of a Canadian teenager killed 18 months ago when a sport-utility vehicle struck his bicycle is being sued for $1.35 million by the SUV's driver.

The driver, Sharlene Simon, claims in court papers filed in December that she "sustained serious and permanent injuries to important physical, mental and psychological functions" as a result of the accident on Oct. 28, 2012, in Innisfil, Ontario, the Innisfil Journal reported.

Brandon Majewski, who was 17 when hit and killed by an SUV while bicycling, is being sued by the driver whose vehicle hit him.CTV screen capture

Named in the suit are Brandon Majewski, who was 17 when he was killed, and two friends with whom he was riding that night and who also were hit, Richard McLean and Jake Roberts, both 16, the Innisfil Examiner said.

Also named are Majewski's parents, a brother who has since died, and the county of Simcoe for its alleged failure to maintain the road where the accident happened.

"In all of my years as a lawyer, I have never seen anyone ever sue a child that they killed," Brian Cameron, the attorney for Majewski's family, told the Examiner. "It's beyond the pale."

"I feel like someone kicked me in the stomach -- I'm over the edge," Derek Majewski, the dead boy's father, told the Journal after he learned last week about Simon's statement of claim filing.

The three boys had hopped on their bikes for a late night excursion to a cafe when they were hit from behind about 1:30 a.m. on Innisfil Beach Road by a Kia Sorento being driven by Simon, according to the Ottawa Citizen.

Majewski was thrown over the roof of the SUV by the impact. He died about two hours later at a hospital in Barrie, Ontario.

McLean sustained a broken pelvis and other injuries and spent weeks in a hospital in Toronto, 56 miles south of Innisfil. Roberts was knocked from his bike but sustained only scratches.

It was dark and drizzly and the two-lane road was dimly lit, the Journal said. South Simcoe police investigators concluded in a 26-page accident reconstruction that the cyclists' visibility was the biggest contributing factor to the accident.

A police report also says Simon's SUV was going 90 kilometers per hour in an 80 kph zone -- roughly 55 mph in a 50 mph zone. No breathalyzer test was performed on Simon, a 42-year-old mother of three, the Examiner said.

The crown attorney advised police not to charge Simon, saying there was no reasonable chance of getting a conviction, the Journal said.

Six months after the accident, Majewski's 23-year-old brother Devon died after taking pills and drinking, an event their father believes was not a suicide but an attempt by Devon to ease his grief.

Cameron has sued Simon to recover medical and funeral expenses for the Majewskis, claiming she was speeding and may have been intoxicated and using her cellphone at the time of the accident.

Simon's claim papers contend the boys were negligent in that they weren't wearing helmets, did not display appropriate lights and reflectors, and were not keeping their eyes on the road or their bicycles under control.

No court dates have been set in either case.

Simon has come under heavy criticism since news broke of her legal action. Her lawyer, Michael Ellis, called the situation tragic for both sides, telling the Journal his client has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and cannot work.

"I understand their grief and I understand what they must be going through is awful but my client is also living with this nightmare every day," Ellis said.